Pastels on a Happy Monday Morning

Yesterday's rainy Sunday afternoon got me playing with pastels and haberdashery.
Some vintage buttons thrown in there...

I want to turn this old button below (yes, it is a button!) 

into a brooche, but it was missing one small stone.
Lucky me, I found exact the same stones. :-)

I really like those handmade buttons made from pastel coloured fabric,
and the cute little paper cards they're attached to.

And I made this potholder...

With this lovely hook from Mollie Makes!

I hope you had a nice Sunday too.

The Good Life & Some Escapism Too

What a lucky coincidence: having a couple of days off,
while the weather is actually quite nice.

I just had to spend some time in our very petit urban garden...
And since I had time on my hands, I decided it could do with some
pompomifying.

So there I was, a grown up woman,
spending several hours of her life making pompons like crazy.
- Oh oh. Is that escapism or what? -

Of course there was tea to be enjoyed...

These pelargoniums are such a bright shade of pink, it's hard to get a decent picture them. Love them though.

The plaid on the bench is actually a mattress I bought in South East Asia
(without the stuffing).

One more picture of the pompon bunting doesn't do any harm, does it...?

More Snapshots

While new posts are in the making, here are some more snapshots...

Summery Snapshots

A love for cornflowers

Who isn't swept away by the beauty of a cornflower?

I'm even not that much into blue, but cornflowers... Wow.

I guess that feeling of being swept away is often enhanced by the surprise of seeing them suddenly somewhere on the road side.

Especially when accompanied by poppies.

There's no surprise seeing these particular cornflowers,

Since I sew them myself...

The drawings are taken from this secondhand book I found in a thriftstore: Wilde planten in bos en veld.
Drawings by E. Demartini en V. Ničová.

Sneak peek - Not even halfway...

It's quite an exercise in patience, this summer throw -
which I'm afraid will not be ready before winter (that'll be of 2014, at this speed).
Still at least another 150 squares to go. Yikes!
It's turning out nice though - so far.
And although I'm not anywhere near finishing it, I'm wondering already which kind of border to make for it?

Let's have a cup of tea and just enjoy the moment

When I was young (a veeery long time ago), there was a choice between tea or coffee.
Not between hundreds of kinds of different tea or coffee.

So much has changed since then! The choice is quite overwhelming.
I enjoy many cups of black or green tea a day (organic and fairtrade of course).
Usually while working - but taking a teabreak is a guilty pleasure.

I never use a water cooker.
Apart from the fact that they're plain ugly (which spoils much of the teafun)
they use way too much energy.

No sir! I put my old fashioned kettle on the fire to brew my tea.
Sure, it takes a bit longer, 

but there's a kind of joy in the anticipation,

the ritual of choosing the tea, 

filling the tea strainer,
pooring the boiling water on the tea,
wait a few minutes... And enjoy...